![\"Central](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/central-coast-180918-_B0A0887-1.jpg\" "\\"central-coast--180918-_B0A0887.jpg\\"")
<\/p>\nDo you love to travel? \u00a0Of course and when you do, I bet you have at lease one camera with you, whether it\u2019s a smart phone, a high-end DSLR or mirrorless camera with at least one lens or something in-between. \u00a0You bring your camera so that you can capture the memories of the places you visited and experiences you had. \u00a0And with a little bit of advanced preparation and thought, you can bring back pictures that are even more memorable and that enable you to relive some of those fond moments.<\/p>\n
Where are many tips that can be given about travel photography. \u00a0Here are five that I think you will find very useful.<\/p>\n
Advanced preparation can dramatically enrich your travel experience, \u00a0And this can lead to more meaningful photographs because you have a better idea of what you will encounter and what to look for.<\/p>\n
Often a big trip is a powerful excuse to convince your partner you need a new camera. \u00a0 But don\u2019t make the mistake of dashing out a week before you depart to buy it. \u00a0Rather, purchase it at least a month in advance, preferably two, so you have time to become familiar with it. \u00a0Learn its features and how to use them to improve the quality of your pictures. \u00a0Practice so that they start to become second nature. \u00a0Even if you already have a camera you\u2019re familiar with, purchasing a new one, even one of the same brand, is often different enough that the things you normally do with your old camera have changed in the new one. You don\u2019t want to be fumbling around with camera settings as a fleeting moment passes you by.<\/p>\n
Another good thing to do before you leave is to read up on the areas you\u2019ll be visiting. \u00a0Get a sense of the history and culture. \u00a0Become familiar with the architecture. \u00a0Look at photographs. \u00a0Discover events that may be going on while you\u2019re there. \u00a0The more you know about your destination the more you will see and experience.<\/p>\n
By all means, take selfies in your favorite places but don\u2019t stop there. \u00a0Take city tours to get an overview of a city but then go off the beaten tourist path to see the people as they really live. \u00a0Eat in restaurants that cater to locals. \u00a0Maps can be a great help in preparing for a more wanderlust adventure.<\/p>\n
Another good idea is to keep a travel journal. \u00a0Jot down the places you visit, dates and times and the impressions you have. This can be a big help when you\u2019er going through your photographs after you return home.<\/p>\n
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Even with a travel journal, it\u2019s also a good idea to document the locations you see by taking pictures of signs. \u00a0If there\u2019s an information kiosk, take a picture of it too so you can read it and recall more of the details later on.<\/p>\n
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If a location does not have an identifying sign, your travel journal will help. \u00a0But there\u2019s another help that is built into many of today\u2019s crop of cameras. Even smart phones have this feature. \u00a0The feature is GPS. \u00a0Cameras with GPS automatically record the exact location (latitude and longitude) for each picture as part of the metadata for that picture. \u00a0This information is stored in the picture’s file. \u00a0\u00a0Lightroom can read the GPS coordinates and display the location of the photograph in the Map module. \u00a0With built-in GPS it becomes much easier to identify the locations where your pictures were taken. \u00a0The limitation of GPS, however, is that it will not work inside buildings or anyplace that does not have an unobstructed view of the sky.<\/p>\n
With the combination of pictures of signs, a travel journal and the camera\u2019s GPS it is much easier for you to identify the location you were shooting. \u00a0This can come in handy if you decide to create a scrapbook of your travel.<\/p>\n
You will be bombarded with a lot of impressions as you explore new places. \u00a0If you\u2019re walking through a town, you may notice the colored buildings that line the streets, the cobblestones and storm drain covers in the roads, the decorative windows and doors, the park with people sitting on benches reading their newspapers. \u00a0It\u2019s all jumbled. \u00a0But there\u2019s a way you can straighten it out. \u00a0Think in terms of\u00a0Chapters, Paragraphs and Sentences. \u00a0In other words, photograph from the grand overview down to intimate details.<\/p>\n
The series of photographs presented here are from a recent visit to Fort Ross along the Central Coast of California, \u00a0It was established by the Russians in 1812. \u00a0They had worked their way down the coast from Alaska, establishing settlements along the way. \u00a0We begin with two Chapter images of Fort Ross.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s an idea of three questions you can ask yourself to get your Chapter, Paragraph and Sentence shots. \u00a0\u201cWhat am I photographing at this location?\u201d \u00a0Answer – fort (Chapter), \u201cWhat tells me more about the fort? \u00a0Answer – Buildings and other things within the fort (Paragraph). \u00a0\u201cWhat tells me more about the buildings?\u201d \u00a0Answer – windows, doors, construction, interiors, etc. (Sentence).<\/p>\n
![\"Chapter](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/chapter-1.jpg\" "\\"chapter-1.jpg\\"")
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The first shot shows the fort as it looks as you approach it. \u00a0You get a sense of the sea bench it was built on (although you can\u2019t see the ocean). \u00a0It has an open feeling, not heavily populated with buildings, \u00a0The second shot shows the interior with the stockade, several buildings, a well and two canons. \u00a0It\u2019s quite spacious. \u00a0Note that the second picture is taken from a higher vantage point that better shows off the grounds. \u00a0I climbed up to the second level of a corner blockhouse to get this view. \u00a0Finding unique viewpoints, such as getting down low or standing on top of something, can add interest to your pictures.<\/p>\n
Now that we have two shots that give the overall sense of the fort, we can move in closer for more detailed shots.<\/p>\n
The Paragraph shots are ones that tell us more about the fort. \u00a0In these shoots, I chose to make compositions of the buildings. \u00a0Each one tells its own story of \u00a0the role it plays in the mission of the fort.<\/p>\n
![\"Paragraph](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/paragraph-1-1.jpg\" "\\"paragraph-1.jpg\\"")
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The Russian Orthodox chapel is probably the most interesting (and photographed) building at Fort Ross. \u00a0But other buildings also have their on function in the operation and life of the \u00a0fort. \u00a0And the stockade leading to the corner blockhouses gives the idea of how the different elements come together.<\/p>\n
The Sentence shots capture small details that catch your eye, things that you might consider too insignificant to warrant a photograph. \u00a0But photograph them anyway. \u00a0Because they add richness to the Chapter and Paragraph photographs. \u00a0With them you can capture the texture of the location and of your experience.<\/p>\n
![\"Fsentence](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/fsentence-1-1.jpg\" "\\"fsentence-1.jpg\\"")
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This set of Sentence photographs range from, on the one hand, the interior of an armory with the rifles used to protect the fort to a detail of the construction technique they used (the photo next to the armory one). \u00a0And then there are some interesting windows, doors and gates, all of which caught my attention. \u00a0They give a more intimate sense of the fort and how it reflects the age in which it was occupied. You get a feel for the way they lived.<\/p>\n
You may have gotten the sense that the Chapter, Paragraph and Sentence shots should be taken in that sequence. \u00a0That\u2019s not the intention. \u00a0Don\u2019t restrict yourself to that. Just keep these three perspectives in mind so that you\u2019re sure to capture them all. \u00a0But shoot what you see when you see it.<\/p>\n
There are many more aspects to travel photography but these five tips can go a long way to ensure that you bring home photographs that will allow you to relive the thrill of your adventure for years to come.<\/p>\n